James L. Gibson

Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science

Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government

One Brookings Drive

One Brookings Drive

St. Louis, MO 63130

United States

SCHOLARLY PAPERS

43

DOWNLOADS
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Top 7,519

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12,136

TOTAL CITATIONS
Rank 10,721

SSRN RANKINGS

Top 10,721

in Total Papers Citations

117

Scholarly Papers (43)

1.

Keeping Your Mouth Shut: Spiraling Self-Censorship in the United States

Political Studies Quarterly 2023, forthcoming
Number of pages: 51 Posted: 16 Jul 2020 Last Revised: 22 Dec 2022
James L. Gibson and Joseph L. Sutherland
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Columbia University
Downloads 3,876 (5,861)
Citation 13

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political intolerance; freedom of speech; political repression

2.

Losing Legitimacy: The Challenges of the Dobbs Ruling to Conventional Legitimacy Theory

Number of pages: 72 Posted: 23 Sep 2022 Last Revised: 08 Jul 2023
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 1,169 (37,994)

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3.

The Legitimacy of the United States Supreme Court in a Polarized Polity

Number of pages: 45 Posted: 17 Jun 2006
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 617 (90,340)
Citation 18

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Institutional Legitimacy, Positivity Bias, Diffuse Support

4.

Supreme Court Nominations, Legitimacy Theory, and the American Public: A Dynamic Test of the Theory of Positivity Bias

Number of pages: 58 Posted: 06 Jul 2007
James L. Gibson and Gregory A. Caldeira
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Downloads 521 (111,749)
Citation 5

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Alito Nomination, Supreme Court legitimacy, positivity theory,confirmation politics,public opinion

5.

Has Legal Realism Damaged the Legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court?

Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 1491128
Number of pages: 34 Posted: 20 Oct 2009
James L. Gibson and Gregory A. Caldeira
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Downloads 449 (133,607)
Citation 9

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6.

Judicial Symbols and the Link Between Legitimacy and Acquiescence

APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper
Number of pages: 70 Posted: 01 Aug 2011 Last Revised: 16 Aug 2011
Ben Woodson, Milton Lodge and James L. Gibson
State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, State University of New York (SUNY) - Department of Political Science and Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 353 (175,598)

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Judicial Symbols, framing, Supreme Court, Legitimacy, Acquiescence

7.

Knowing About Courts

2nd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper
Number of pages: 40 Posted: 13 Jan 2007
James L. Gibson and Gregory A. Caldeira
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Downloads 325 (192,018)
Citation 7

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Public Opinion Toward Courts, Political Knowledge, Positivity Theory

8.

Challenges to the Impartiality of State Supreme Courts: Legitimacy Theory and 'New-Style' Judicial Campaigns

American Political Science Review, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 48 Posted: 24 Jun 2007
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 311 (201,141)
Citation 5

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State Judicial Elections, Institutional Legitimacy, Campaigning, Public Opinion

9.

Public Reverence for the United States Supreme Court: Is the Court Invincible?

Number of pages: 62 Posted: 16 Jul 2012
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 306 (204,685)
Citation 4

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court legitimacy, public opinion, accepting court decisions

10.

'New-Style' Judicial Campaigns and the Legitimacy of State High Courts: Results from a National Survey

3rd Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Papers
Number of pages: 42 Posted: 23 Oct 2007
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 254 (247,953)
Citation 8

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Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, Judicial Elections, Campaigning, Attack Ads, Campaign Contributions, Policy Talk

11.

Toward Understanding the Normalization of Gender-Based Violence: Accepted by Exceptions?

Number of pages: 65 Posted: 05 May 2022
James L. Gibson and Amanda Gouws
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and affiliation not provided to SSRN
Downloads 227 (276,766)

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12.

Do the Effects of Unpopular Supreme Court Rulings Linger? The Dobbs Decision Rescinding Abortion Rights

American Political Science Review, forthcoming
Number of pages: 42 Posted: 16 Jul 2023 Last Revised: 24 Feb 2024
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 212 (295,386)
Citation 4

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Dobbs Decision; Abortion Politics; Attitude Change and Persistence: U.S. Supreme Court

13.

Testing Positivity Theory: What Roles do Politicization and Legal Realism Play in Shaping U.S. Supreme Court Legitimacy?

Number of pages: 67 Posted: 09 Mar 2016
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science
Downloads 193 (322,262)

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judicial legitimacy, public opinion, political communication, ideology, attitude

14.

Legitimacy, Losing, But Accepting: A Test of Positivity Theory and the Effects of Judicial Symbols

Number of pages: 62 Posted: 13 Jun 2014
James L. Gibson, Milton Lodge and Ben Woodson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science, State University of New York (SUNY) - Department of Political Science and State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook
Downloads 183 (338,339)
Citation 6

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15.

Campaigning for the Bench: The Corrosive Effects of Campaign Speech?

Number of pages: 34 Posted: 30 Dec 2007
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 172 (357,391)

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judicial elections, campaigning, Republican Party of Minnesota v. White

16.

Rescuing the GSS’s Measures of Political Intolerance

Number of pages: 27 Posted: 20 May 2021
James L. Gibson and Jenna Pedersen
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Washington University in St. Louis
Downloads 167 (366,675)

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Political intolerance, General Social Survey, Change Over Time, Least-liked Tolerance

17.

After Dobbs: A Note of Warning to the U.S. Supreme Court

Number of pages: 20 Posted: 01 May 2023 Last Revised: 07 Jul 2023
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 163 (374,410)
Citation 2

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institutional legitimacy; abortion politics; constitutional law; public opinion

18.

Judicial Impartiality, Campaign Contributions, and Recusals: Results from a National Survey

5th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper
Number of pages: 51 Posted: 17 Jul 2010
James L. Gibson and Gregory A. Caldeira
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Downloads 158 (384,498)

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Judicial legitimacy, perceptions of impartiality, judicial campaigning, recusal, judicial election

19.

Taming Uncivil Discourse: Does Reappropriating Group Insults Work?

Number of pages: 50 Posted: 10 Nov 2017 Last Revised: 12 Nov 2017
James L. Gibson, Lee Epstein and Gregory P. Magarian
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science, University of Southern California and Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law
Downloads 157 (386,615)

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reappropriation; intergroup conflict; Asian American politics; free speech; racial insults

20.

Does Intolerance Dampen Dissent? Macro-Tolerance and Protest in American Metropolitan Areas

Number of pages: 50 Posted: 26 Mar 2016 Last Revised: 30 May 2017
Christopher Claassen and James L. Gibson
University of Glasgow and Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 145 (412,706)
Citation 3

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Political Tolerance, Politcal Culture, Dissent, Macro-Tolerance, Public Opinion

21.

Is Hatred Really the Main Emotional Source of Political Intolerance?

Number of pages: 52 Posted: 07 Jun 2017
James L. Gibson, Christopher Claassen and Joan Barceló
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science, University of Glasgow and New York University (NYU) - Division of Social Science
Downloads 144 (415,077)
Citation 1

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political tolerance, emotion, sophistication

22.

Is the U.S. Supreme Court's Legitimacy Grounded in Performance Satisfaction and Ideology?

APSA 2013 Annual Meeting Paper, American Political Science Association 2013 Annual Meeting
Number of pages: 50 Posted: 12 Aug 2013
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science
Downloads 144 (415,077)
Citation 10

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U.S. Supreme Court legitimacy, countermajoritarianism, public opinion, diffuse support

23.

Judges, Elections, and the American Mass Public: The Net Effects of Judicial Campaigns on the Legitimacy of Courts

Number of pages: 42 Posted: 08 Jul 2011 Last Revised: 26 Oct 2011
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 136 (434,147)
Citation 1

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24.

The Rise of Self-Censorship in America

Sutherland, Joseph L., and James L. Gibson. 2024. “The Rise of Self-Censorship in America.” In Maranto, Robert Anthony, Catherine Salmon, Lee Jussim, and Sally Satel. Editors. The Free Inquiry Papers. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute. Chapter 8.
Number of pages: 32 Posted: 11 Jan 2024
Joseph L. Sutherland and James L. Gibson
Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 134 (439,318)

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political intolerance; freedom of speech; political repression

25.

Cambodians’ Support for the Rule of Law on the Eve of the Khmer Rouge Trials

Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 1491077
Number of pages: 26 Posted: 20 Oct 2009
James L. Gibson, Jeffrey Sonis and Sokhom Hean
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - Department of Social Medicine and Center for Advanced Study
Downloads 132 (444,503)
Citation 1

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26.

After the Storm: Racial Differences in Allegiance to America’s Democracy

Number of pages: 44 Posted: 03 Jun 2021
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 130 (449,955)
Citation 1

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Democratic Legitimacy, Threats to Democracy, Black Public Opinion, Consequences of 2020 Presidential Election

27.

Change in Institutional Support for the U.S. Supreme Court: Is the Court’s Legitimacy Imperiled by the Decisions it Makes?

Number of pages: 37 Posted: 16 Jul 2014
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science
Downloads 128 (455,350)
Citation 9

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28.

The Legitimacy of the Police among African Americans: the Influence of Identities, Experiences, and Black Lives Matter

Number of pages: 39 Posted: 23 Mar 2022
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 127 (458,139)
Citation 1

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29.

From Ferguson’ Streets to Washington’s Marble Arches: Experiences with Legal Authorities, Group Identities, and African American Perceptions of Legal Legitimacy

Number of pages: 55 Posted: 24 Mar 2016 Last Revised: 22 Jun 2016
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science
Downloads 122 (472,652)

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legal system legitimacy, African Americans, Social Identity Theory

30.

Too Liberal, Too Conservative, or About Right? The Implications of Ideological Dissatisfaction for Supreme Court Legitimacy

Number of pages: 43 Posted: 05 Oct 2015
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science
Downloads 122 (472,652)
Citation 2

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Supreme Court Legitimacy, Public Opinion, Diffuse Support

31.

Campaign Support, Conflicts of Interest, and Judicial Impartiality: Can the Legitimacy of Courts Be Rescued by Recusals?

Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 1491289
Number of pages: 50 Posted: 19 Oct 2009
James L. Gibson and Gregory A. Caldeira
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Downloads 122 (472,652)
Citation 5

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32.

The Effects of Judicial Campaign Messages on Voter Mobilization: An Experimental Study

APSA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper
Number of pages: 32 Posted: 13 Aug 2009 Last Revised: 18 Aug 2009
University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication, affiliation not provided to SSRN, Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and University of Pennsylvania
Downloads 118 (484,928)

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Judicial Election, Voter Turnout, Mobilization, Advertising, Campaign Messages, Experiment

33.

De-Conferring Judicial Legitimacy

Number of pages: 51 Posted: 10 Jan 2018
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science
Downloads 116 (491,177)

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Judicial Legitimacy, Judicial Elections, Caperton v. Massey, Federalism

34.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF ELECTIONS: THREATS TO THE LEGITIMACY OF AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS FROM TRUMP AND THE 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Number of pages: 84 Posted: 12 Apr 2021
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 109 (514,358)

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institutional legitimacy, threats to democracy, 2020 presidential election, democratic theory, U.S. Supreme Court

35.

Updating Supreme Court Legitimacy: Testing the 'Rule, Learn, Update' Model of Political Communication

Number of pages: 48 Posted: 08 Mar 2016
James L. Gibson, Miguel Pereira and Jeffrey Ziegler
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, College of Arts & Sciences, Department of Political Science, Students and Trinity College Dublin
Downloads 97 (557,881)

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judicial legitimacy, public opinion, political communication, ideology, attitude

36.

Justifying Political Violence: African American Attitudes Toward Protests Against Police Attacks on Blacks

Number of pages: 91 Posted: 09 Apr 2022
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 85 (605,290)
Citation 1

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support for democracy, political violence, political culture, African American public opinion

37.

Updating Legitimacy

Number of pages: 49 Posted: 21 Mar 2024 Last Revised: 10 Dec 2024
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 76 (644,655)

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Attitude change, Supreme Court attitudes, legitimacy

38.

Assessing the Institutional Legitimacy of the U.S. Senate: Introducing a New Measure of Diffuse Support

Number of pages: 53 Posted: 06 Sep 2023
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 70 (673,282)

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Institutional legitimacy, diffuse support, racial differences in public opinion, democratic values

39.

Performance Evaluations are Not Legitimacy Judgments: A Caution About Interpreting Public Opinions Toward the U.S. Supreme Court

Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 54, 2017
Number of pages: 18 Posted: 28 Jul 2018
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 36 (900,302)
Citation 1

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Legitimacy; Polarization; U.S. Supreme Court and Public Opinion

40.

Reluctance to Speak Your Mind: Changes in Perceptions of Freedom to Speak Over Three and a Half Decades Among Black and White Americans

Number of pages: 47 Posted: 13 Feb 2024
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 20 (1,067,294)

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self-censorship; perceived political freedom; Black political freedom; freedom to speak

41.

Racial Polarization in Allegiance to the U.S. Supreme Court: Has the Dobbs Decision Created A "New Normal"?

Number of pages: 57 Posted: 04 Feb 2025
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 5 (1,245,529)

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Institutional legitimacy, abortion politics, U.S. Supreme Court, African American public opinion, attitude updating

42.

Reluctance to Speak Your Mind: Changes in Perceptions of the Costs of Speaking Out Over Three and a Half Decades Among Black and White Americans

Number of pages: 53 Posted: 06 Dec 2024
James L. Gibson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science
Downloads 5 (1,245,529)

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self-censorship, free speech, Black public opinion, Democratic culture

43.

The Legitimacy of the US Supreme Court: Conventional Wisdoms and Recent Challenges Thereto

Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 10, pp. 201-219, 2014
Posted: 05 Nov 2014
James L. Gibson and Michael Nelson
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science and Pennsylvania State University - Department of Political Science

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